Executive Recruiter

At Sift, we’re redefining how modern machines are built, tested, and operated. Our platform gives engineers real-time observability of high-frequency telemetry—eliminating bottlenecks and enabling faster, more reliable development.

Sift was born from our work at SpaceX on Dragon, Falcon, Starlink, and Starship—where scaling telemetry, debugging flight software, and ensuring mission reliability demanded new infrastructure. Founded by a SpaceX, Google, and Palantir team, Sift is built for mission-critical systems where precision and scalability are non-negotiable.

We’re looking for a high-touch, high-impact Executive Recruiter to help us scale Sift’s world-class team. This is not a traditional executive recruiting role—it’s a chance to build the craft of recruiting at Sift like an executive search partner would: through deep relationships, creative sourcing, and storytelling that attracts top-tier talent across all technical and go-to-market roles.

As our third recruiter, you’ll join a small, high-performance team and own searches end-to-end—while helping shape the systems, playbooks, and candidate experience that define how Sift hires. You’ll combine the precision of executive search with the pace and volume of startup recruiting to identify, engage, and close the most exceptional talent in the market.

This is an individual contributor role with broad ownership and visibility. You’ll work directly with hiring leaders, founders, and the Head of Talent to evolve how Sift attracts and hires the people who will define our next stage of growth.

• Lead full-cycle searches across engineering, GTM, and leadership roles, running each like an executive search—from research and sourcing strategy to candidate management and close.

• Build deep, long-term talent networks through proactive outreach, referrals, and ecosystem engagement.

• Develop tailored sourcing strategies for priority roles, combining high-volume prospecting with personalized, high-touch engagement.

• Serve as a trusted partner to hiring managers, advising on market insights, talent availability, and hiring strategy.

• Contribute to the design of recruiting systems, process improvements, and outreach narratives that elevate Sift’s brand in the talent market.

• Champion a thoughtful, human candidate experience that reflects Sift’s culture and values.

• 5+ years of recruiting experience, ideally spanning:

  • Executive search (agency or retained firm)

  • In-house recruiting for software engineering and GTM roles at a high-growth company

• A strong sourcing toolkit—able to identify, engage, and nurture exceptional talent across multiple channels.

• Experience balancing high-touch, relationship-driven searches with the urgency of startup hiring.

• Excellent communication and judgment; you know how to represent both the company and the candidate with credibility and care.

• Low ego, high initiative, and a genuine passion for the craft of recruiting.

• A systems mindset—organized, data-driven, and comfortable building structure in ambiguity.

• Experience recruiting in the Los Angeles or San Francisco Bay Area tech ecosystems.

• Background in aerospace, defense, or other frontier-tech industries.

• Track record building candidate pipelines for niche technical or leadership roles.

Sift’s headquarters is in El Segundo, CA. We collaborate in person twice a week—on Mondays and Thursdays—and come together for a full week every two months. While we prefer team members to be local, we’re open to relocating candidates to LA or considering remote work from the San Francisco area for the right candidate.

Salary range: $100,000 - $160,000 per year. Plus equity and benefits.